Buying Philips Hue in Australia

Most Hue advice is written for Britain or the United States, which is why Australians get two things wrong when they buy it: the fitting, and where the box came from. Both are fixable in about a minute if you know what to look at. Here is what actually differs in Australia.

Does Philips Hue come in bayonet?

Yes. Philips sells B22 bayonet Hue in Australia across the whole range, not just in plain white, and it costs the same as the E27 screw version: $34.95 for a warm white A60, $59.95 for white ambiance, and $99.95 for white and colour. The brighter A67 runs $119.95 in colour. This is an Australian and New Zealand product line with its own codes, which is why overseas guides so often tell you Hue is screw-fitting only.

Which one you need is a question about your house, not about Hue. Australian homes use both: bayonet is the traditional fitting here and screw is common alongside it, frequently in the same house, so check the globe that is in there now rather than guessing. Adapters between the two exist, but they add length and weight to a fitting that was not designed for it, and a large A67 globe in an adapter often will not sit properly in a shade. Buy the cap you have.

Downlights are the harder question

If your downlights take a GU10, this is easy: they run straight off mains power, twist in, and Hue sells them at $54.95 in white ambiance and $99.95 in colour. MR16 is the trap. It runs on 12 V through a transformer, and Philips publishes a list of transformers tested for Australia and New Zealand with exactly four models on it. An existing halogen transformer will often make a Hue MR16 flicker, buzz or refuse to start, which is why Philips now sells its own. Before you buy MR16, find out what is above the ceiling.

There is a third possibility worth ruling out first. A lot of Australian downlights are sealed integrated LED units with no replaceable lamp at all. If nothing twists or pulls out, no bulb of any brand will help you, and the job becomes replacing the fitting.

What it costs here

Whether you need the Bridge on top of that depends on how many lights you are running and whether you want them working when you are out. We have written that up separately: do you need a Philips Hue Bridge.

Why an overseas bargain usually is not one

The radio is never the problem. Hue runs on Zigbee at 2.4 GHz everywhere it is sold, so an imported bulb will pair with an Australian Bridge quite happily. What goes wrong is physical and electrical.

• American Hue is built for 120 V and uses an E26 cap. It is not suitable on Australian mains, and E26 is not E27 despite looking like it.
• European and British bulbs are rated 220 to 240 V, so the globe itself is within range. Anything with a plug on it is not: bridges, light strip supplies, outdoor transformers and smart plugs all ship with the wrong pins.
• An imported unit carries a CE mark, not the RCM. Electrical equipment in scope of the Australian scheme cannot be supplied here unless it is marked with the RCM and has a registered responsible supplier standing behind it.
• The warranty may not travel with it. Philips Hue carries a two-year warranty in Australia, and those terms are written around products purchased in Australia.

Where to buy it

Hue is widely stocked in Australia and you will find it in the big hardware and electronics chains, usually the same handful of starter kits and colour bulbs. What is worth checking wherever you buy is whether the bayonet version is actually stocked in the tier you want, because that is the line most retailers thin out first. We carry the Philips Hue range with B22 across all three tiers at Australian recommended pricing, we are an Australian business, so your consumer guarantees sit with us rather than an offshore seller, and you can talk to someone who has actually set the things up.